Explanation of Votes

Evolution to the current institutional setup

Following a series of crises which it has not yet solved, the EU’s first priority should be to stabilise and consolidate its achievements. This is hardly the time to set out on new projects for which the popular appetite in Europe has faded. In conducting European affairs, the report attaches much importance to the “Union

  • 0
Explanation of Votes

CETA

I fully accept that Canada is a country which shares the EU’s democratic values and with which the EU should promote the best political and economic relations possible. However CETA is an inadequate tool by which to achieve this objective, not least because it will serve as a template for future similar relations with other,

  • 0
Explanation of Votes

Budgetary capacity for the eurozone

While having every respect for the competence and dedication of the rapporteurs, I consider the exercise that they undertook to define the parameters of a budgetary capacity for the eurozone as technically interesting but politically premature. The fundamental problem facing the eurozone is not its design, though this needs to be considered. It is the

  • 0
Explanation of Votes

Explanation of vote on the european pillars of social rights

I have unreservedly voted in favour of this report on the following understanding: that while the measures being recommended will need to apply across the European Union, it does not follow that their implementation should be harmonised across states having different economic and social characteristics. Indeed their application will remain in large part a matter

  • 0